


you want to die for love

by micahgranados



Category: Clare Siobhan Sims 4, The Sims (Video Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:28:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,211
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25972882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/micahgranados/pseuds/micahgranados
Summary: kenai loves his family, and he wants to be better for them.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	you want to die for love

**Author's Note:**

> kenaivy is THAT ship kenai just cares so much about her?? this is just me writing kenai’s character arc ur welcome clare xx

it takes kenai a second to realise what koda is laughing at.

“ivy knitted it for me,” kenai says, a warmness tingling on his cheeks, his knitted hat feeling so _present_ on his head.

“it’s cute,” koda says, stifling a grin, “it suits you.”

kenai’s always felt a bit awkward around his older brother because there’s seven years between them and then he and nita both left him with their mum on the farm. it’s an old wound, but it still aches from time to time.

“thanks for coming.” kenai leads koda into the kitchen and they sit down. he definitely inherited his dad’s bad-with-people genes.

the kitchen is small, but it’s homely. it reminds kenai of home, anyway. the bare wood and the chairs and tables he made himself, just like his father did. everything he does, he does to make yona proud. his dad taught him how to fish and how to sand wood and how to fix the sink when it breaks. he taught him how to be patient and how to do things you’re uncomfortable with and how to support the loved ones in his life. and kenai can’t bear to think how disappointed his father must be in him.

“oh, hello!” comes ivy, cheery as ever. “i’m ivy.”

“i’m koda.”

“it’s nice to meet you,” she says, and she smiles. “perfect timing, actually, because emile just texted saying that him and mum are gonna be over in a bit.”

kenai just has to look to koda’s face, because, actually, both of them inherited their dad’s bad-with-people genes. and kenai has it easier because he’s met ivy’s family before. 

“do you like kenai’s hat?” ivy asks, “i’ve been practicing knitting so when the baby comes i can knit them a onesie.”

“it really suits him,” koda agrees.

“okay,” kenai stands up. he’s not very good with feelings and the way he feels around ivy always makes him restless. “koda, do you want to help me make some food? i don’t think anyone is going to enjoy dumpster pineapple.” he says playfully with a pointed look at ivy, whose smile hasn’t left her face.

so ivy goes back into the little room they made for her knitting and his woodwork to continue her pair of socks whilst the brothers make a (vegan) cottage pie together, a recipe their father taught them.

“i miss being little,” koda says, probably being reminded of the days when the three of them used to help yona make tea. “like, when you woke up in the morning and mum had made croissants and you could smell them from upstairs.”

nostalgia settles over kenai like snow on grass. why couldn’t he had stayed young, watching the chickens cluck around the farm or playing fetch with björn or helping dad varnish a table or doing his homework in the mama bear bakery with his siblings? why did he have to get older and make so many mistakes?

“yeah,” kenai says, swallowing hard, “me too.”

emile and raelyn knock on the door just as the pie finishes cooking. kenai answers, not wanting ivy to get up unnecessarily.

“i like your hat,” emile laughs.

“ivy made it for me,” kenai tells him pridefully.

“she needs to make me one.”

kenai has to drag koda into the craft room and sits him down on the sofa (one of the few things in this house that he hasn’t fabricated or built and ivy hasn’t dumpster dived). ivy sits opposite them in the little rocking chair in the corner of the room, and her mum and brother sit in the armchairs across from the sofa.

“don’t you love kenai’s hat?” ivy asks.

he catches her staring and his cheeks grow hot again. if he could, he would look at her face all day long. her beautiful eyes the colour of the soil they grow their plants in or the wood he works with. her curly hair that’s grown longer each day he’s known her and now nearly reaches her hips.

everyone agrees and then she starts showing off the pair of blue socks she’s making. no doubt kenai will be modelling those next. 

and there’s a thump from outside and kenai’s gaze snaps to koda, who’s wide-eyed too. kenai makes some excuse about showing his brother the juice fizzer quickly and they rush outside, and sure enough, there is nita, broom at her feet, nursing her elbow.

nita takes one look at him and bursts out laughing. “what the hell are you wearing?”

“shush!” he hisses. “ivy made it for me.”

“you look  beautiful .”

“evergreen harbour really isn’t that far from glimmerbrook.” kenai crosses his arms. “you could’ve just walked.”

the last time nita decided to fly over on her broomstick was when he was about to break up with billie. she landed right by their feet and made billie scream.

“but that’s not fun,” nita complains. “anyway, why wasn’t i invited to the party?” she huffs, gesturing to koda.

suddenly, kenai realises the last time the three of them were together was at willow’s funeral. his mouth goes a little dry.

“do you need a plaster for your elbow?”

“nah, i’ll be alright, thanks. i can make a potion when i get home.”

“ivy’s mum and brother are round,” kenai says and leads his older siblings inside. nita is the only one out of the three of them who’s extroverted, clearly inheriting their mother’s confidence and friendliness.

ivy already knows nita —they’re quite good friends— so she’s introduced to emile and raelyn. 

“you have such a big family,” emile says to kenai, who raises an eyebrow, as if to say  _ you have no idea. _

“i love kenai’s hat,” nita says to ivy.

ivy starts talking about all her knitting plans she has — tea cosies; knee-high socks; onesies for the baby. she looks at kenai when she says that, so radiant and warm, and kenai flushes as hot as the strangerville sun he was raised under.

because, surely, life is about mistakes. it’s about messing up and being wrong and finding your footing and learning. willow used to joke about how she thought yona hated her after their first date went badly. kenai has done so many things he’s not proud of but he’s gonna be better from now on. it’s almost as if he can feel his dad’s firm hand on his shoulder. he is going to wear this white tiger hat and he is going to be the person his parents raised him to be — genuine, kind, and thoughtful. you can always turn things around. you can always learn. you can always be better. and ivy needs him to be better. ivy needs him to be a good dad. a good dad like yona. 

looking around at this ramshackle family in this ramshackle home, pride blooms and flourishes like the flowers that grow outside in their garden. here he is, despite willow and yona and chase’s deaths; despite the guilt he’s drowning in; despite everything. he can be better. he can always be better. his parents taught him strength and perseverance. and he will not break. he will sculpt himself into someone his parents will be proud of. the baby bear of the family, grown up at last.

**Author's Note:**

> will i always be mad clare kept the babies? yes. however kenai is such a good dad it makes me so emotional i love this mans with my whole heart
> 
> thank you so much for reading!!!! ik there are 0 fics out there that arent sicah so i’m doing gods work :)


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